COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR EDITH MAXWELL

We welcome back today mystery author Edith Maxwell (aka Tace Baker) who writes the Local Foods Mysteries. Edith once owned and operated the smallest certified-organic farm in Essex County, Massachusetts, so she knows about food. Today she shares with us a recipe for one of my favorite veggies. Learn more about Edith and her books at her website. -- AP

Local Asparagus, Local Murder

My new mystery, A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die, opens on the first pick-up day for the subscribers to the farm share program at Cam's organic farm. She hands out recipes to her customers and, since everybody loves fresh June asparagus in New England, she includes instructions for her special Marinated Asparagus.

 

Cam’s Marinated Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 pound farm-fresh asparagus

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely minced

1 Tbsp fresh chives, finely minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice or wine vinegar (or a mix)

1/4 cup good-quality olive oil

Salt and pepper

Snap the bottoms off the stalks of asparagus and wash the stalks.

Place asparagus in a steamer (microwave or stovetop) with water and steam several minutes until just bright green. The stalks should still be crisp. Plunge in cold water for one minute to stop the cooking, then remove to a colander.

Press the clove of garlic through a garlic press into a small bowl. Add the mustard, herbs, and lemon juice or vinegar, and whisk to combine. Drizzle in the olive oil slowly, whisking as you go. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Dry the asparagus with a clean dishtowel and cut it into inch-long segments. 

Place asparagus pieces in a bowl, add the dressing, toss, then add all to a green salad.

You can also serve the asparagus as a side salad by arranging the stalks pointing in the same direction on a plate. Pour the dressing over them, then roll the stalks to coat them.

I hope you enjoy the asparagus and the first in the Local Foods Mysteries series. What's your favorite late spring recipe? Do you belong to a farm share program or have a good farmers' market nearby? Would you want to continue shopping at a farm that also featured locally sourced murder?

A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die

It's harvest time in Westbury, Massachusetts, and novice farmer Cameron Flaherty hopes to make a killing selling organic produce. A colorful Locavore Club belongs to Cam's farm-share program. But when a killer strikes on her property, her first foray into the world of organic farming yields a bumper crop of locally sourced murder.

To clear her name, Cam has to dig up secrets buried deep beneath the soil of Produce Plus Plus Farm. And when the police don't make progress in the case, she has to catch a murderer whose motto seems to be, “Eat Local. Kill Local.”

Buy Link